1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to mathematical card games and more particularly, to a multiplication, addition and subtraction card game for strengthening multiplication, addition and subtraction skills and which requires participants to perform mathematical operations to accurately calculate their scores throughout the game. In a preferred embodiment, the card game utilizes a 124-card deck including 100 multiplication factor cards, each of which displays a multiplication equation on one face thereof and is grouped into one of five color-coded categories. The card deck further includes multiple strategy cards, typically including 8 FREE cards and 16 SUBTRACT cards. To maximize his or her point gain, each player attempts to play from his or her dealt card hand a card which displays an equation the product of which is the same as the product of the equation displayed on the card played by the previous player. The player adds the product of the equation displayed on the selected dealt card with the product of the equation displayed on the card played by the previous player. In the event that a player""s dealt hand does not include a card which displays an equation the product of which is the same as that of the equation displayed on the card played by the previous player, that player may play a card which displays an equation having a different product than that of the equation displayed on the card played by the previous player but having the same color as the previous player""s card to gain a smaller number of points. Each player may play a FREE card to gain points and pass play to the next player or a SUBTRACT card to deduct points from the previous player""s score. The player who first reaches a predetermined number of points or has the most points after a predetermined number of rounds is the winner.
Teaching multiplication tables to elementary school students is a fundamental goal of educators. This goal is frequently accomplished by writing a multiplication equation on one side of a flash card and the product of the equation on the opposite side of the card, and having the student calculate the product as quickly as possible by looking at the equation on the card while someone holding the card verifies or corrects the answer as shown on the opposite side of the card. While repeated use of the flashcards facilitates the students"" learning the multiplication tables, the process is typically frustrating for the student and the student may lose interest after a short period of time. Accordingly, presenting multiplication tables in an enjoyable game format facilitates a more effective teaching method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various card games or puzzles are known in the art for teaching mathematical concepts to players. Typical of these is the educational puzzle described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,253, dated Feb. 28, 1978, to Eriksen. The Eriksen puzzle is characterized by multiple, variously-shaped cards which are arranged on a flat surface to form a prescribed numeral by matching a multiplication equation provided adjacent to the edge of one card with the product of the equation, provided adjacent to the edge of the abutting card. U.S. Pat. No. 4,379,700, dated Apr. 12, 1983, to Pollock, details a multiplication/division tutorial game containing chips which represent multiplication products and playing cards which represent multiplier-multiplicand combinations that equal the products of the chips. Each player has a placemat on which his or her dealt and drawn cards are placed. The chips are arranged in three piles, and the players take turns trying to capture the chips by combining pairs of cards whose products equal those of any one of the three top chips. The player who captures the most chips is declared the winner. Mathematical teaching cards are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,746, dated Apr. 23, 1985, to Turner, which teaching cards are characterized by a series of mathematical teaching cards including multiple decks each having a level of difficulty identification and multiple sets of mathematical statements having the same answer. The teaching cards can be used for multiplication, division, subtraction and addition or any combination thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,976, dated May 28, 1991, to Kuyath, discloses a teaching system for enhancing the learning of sets of facts, including multiple problem cards that are divided into sets by color-coding. A key card that is placed in view of the student or students contains color-coded answers to assist the student or students in choosing the correct response to a problem. U.S. Pat. No. 5,639,091, dated Jun. 17, 1997, to Morales, discloses integer cards for educating children in basic mathematical concepts. The deck includes 52 cards each containing integers between xe2x88x926 and +6, and each card belongs to one of four suits having different arithmetic operation symbols. Two of the suits are of one color, and two of the suits are of another color. The cards can be used in a variety of games to instruct students in concepts ranging from simple matching to more complex arithmetic calculations. An educational card system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,924, dated Aug. 29, 2000, to Sanford, Sr., et al The card system includes multiple question cards and multiple answer cards, each answer card corresponding to one or more question cards. Matching question and answer cards have the same visual pattern, such that a student can confirm the answer to a mathematical problem on a question card by matching the pattern on the answer card with the pattern on the question card.
An object of this invention is to provide a game for strengthening multiplication, addition and subtraction skills through card play.
Another object of this invention is to provide an enjoyable and entertaining method of strengthening multiplication, addition and subtraction skills.
Another object of this invention is to provide a card game which requires each player to perform a mathematical operation to accurately calculate his or her score throughout the game.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a multiplication, addition and subtraction card game which utilizes a card deck containing multiplication for cards each displaying a multiplication equation, wherein each player for maximum point gain calculates the products of the equations displayed on his or her respective dealt cards in an attempt to find a card which displays an equation the product of which is the same as the product of the equation displayed on the card played by the previous player, and adds the products of the equations.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a card game which utilizes a card deck including multiplication factor cards, FREE cards and SUBTRACT cards, wherein each player may play a FREE card to gain points and pass play to the next player or a SUBTRACT card to deduct points from the previous player""s score.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a multiplication, addition and subtraction card game which utilizes a card deck containing cards each having a unique multiplication equation, wherein some of the cards in the deck display different equations having the same product; and wherein the cards in the deck are grouped into one of multiple color-coded categories, such that for maximum point gain each player attempts to play a card which displays an equation having the same product as that of the equation displayed on the card which was played by the previous player and adds the products of the equations to gain the same number of points for a play, or each player may play a card which has the same color as the card played by the previous player but displays an equation having a different product to gain a smaller number of points.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a multiplication, addition and subtraction card game which utilizes a card deck having 100 multiplication factor cards each including a multiplication equation displayed on the face thereof and grouped into one often denominations, with the first denomination including ten cards displaying the numeral one multiplied by the successive numerals one through ten, respectively; the second denomination including ten cards displaying the numeral two multiplied by the successive numerals one through ten, respectively, the third denomination including ten cards displaying the numeral three multiplied by the successive numerals one through ten, respectively; and the fourth through tenth denominations following the same pattern, with each of the denominations grouped into one of five color-coded categories The card deck further includes strategy cards having multiple FREE cards and multiple SUBTRACT cards.
These and other objects of the invention are provided in a multiplication, addition and subtraction card game for strengthening multiplication, addition and subtraction skills. In a preferred embodiment, the card game utilizes a 124-card deck including 100 multiplication factor cards, each of which displays a multiplication equation on one face thereof and is grouped into one of five color-coded categories. The card deck further includes multiple strategy cards, typically including 8 FREE cards and 16 SUBTRACT cards. To maximize his or her point gain, each player attempts to play a card which displays an equation the product of which is the same as the product of the equation displayed on the card played by the previous player, and the sum of the products is added to the player""s score. For a smaller number of points, a player may play a card which displays an equation having a different product than that of the equation displayed on the card played by the previous player but has the same color as the previous player""s card. Each player may play a FREE card to gain points and pass play to the next player or a SUBTRACT card to deduct points from the previous player""s score. The player who first reaches a predetermined number of points or has the most points after a predetermined number of rounds is the winner.